Monthly Archives: April 2016

Celebrating Yellowstone’s Volunteers

Each year, organizations across the country celebrate National Volunteer Week in April. Let us introduce you to some of the volunteers who come back to the Ranch week after week to help us keep it running smoothly.

Wayne Harsha treks nearly 70 miles roundtrip to volunteer regularly at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.

harshas-web“I love coming here. Love it,” he said. “You kind of have to decide what’s important in life. Family is important. Doing something like this is important.”

Wayne has compiled data and statistics for YBGR for more than two years. He learned of the opportunity through his son, Tom Harsha, who is a mental health worker at the Ranch.

“I like to be able to make some contribution to help out,” Wayne said. “I can’t do what Tom does, but if I can take the time to help the Ranch with data to make better decisions, then I can give back.”

Wayne also likes to interact with Yellowstone’s youth whenever possible. Once, he brought flowers to the Ranch, and he, his wife, and Tom planted them with the kids.

“I’m doing it for the kids and so (Tom) can have a better chance to do what he does best,” Wayne said. “I would do it even if he wasn’t here, but it was a connection that brought us together.”

Wayne served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 until 1991. He has worked as a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University since 1988. He adopted four of his five children, including Tom. Having lived in Japan, Germany, and several states, he now lives with his wife in Columbus.

 

After raising six kids and now two grand-puppies, you might think sorting clothes would sound dreadful. But Malinda Rickman, a new volunteer to YBGR, spends an evening each week in our clothing room doing just that—sorting clothes.

Malinda Rickman
Malinda Rickman

“After having so many kids, I don’t mind laundry,” she said. “I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when I can see some of the progress and helping somebody that needs it”.

Malinda previously worked in clothing retail, so sorting the clothing room seemed like an easy way for her to get involved in the community.

“It’s nice to be able to branch out and give back,” she said. “The people I’ve met are just wonderful. I just really enjoy it.”

Malinda has always lived in Billings and owns the Continental Gate Company with her husband. An avid runner, she doesn’t mind running across town to work in the clothing room. With all of her sorting, she said she is at a point where she is starting to “make it pretty.”

 

Longtime YBGR volunteer Gail Norman has a heart for kids and the people who help them.

“I like what the Ranch does and I feel like maybe I’m contributing a little to that,” she said.

When asked how long she has volunteered at the Ranch campus, she joked, “I was afraid you were going to ask me that.” For about seven years, she has filed for the Fiscal Department and has helped with setting up filing systems. When she has time, she now helps with other clerical tasks and fills in at the reception desk.

“[The staff are] always very appreciative I’m there,” she said. “Everyone is very, very happy to see me. It makes you feel good.”

Gail is usually only able to volunteer at the Ranch with short notice since she also works regularly as a substitute teacher at the Billings Career Center. In her spare time, she also enjoys reading sometimes several novels a week, caring for her acre large yard she jokingly calls “the plantation”, staying healthy, and spending time with her two grown sons and six grand kids.

 

Dorothy Jensen
Dorothy Jensen

Anyone who walks into the Garfield Center on a Tuesday has a high chance of running into volunteer Dorothy Jensen. There, she helps with filing, data entry, and as she called it, “odds and ends that help out the staff.” In May, she will be celebrating her third year as a volunteer of YBGR.

“It gives me something to look forward to,” she said. “(The staff) are very welcoming, pleasant, and friendly.”

Dorothy was a registered nurse before she retired. She had enjoyed volunteering in her hometown in Iowa. In 2013, she moved to Billings to be closer to one of her two sons, and she caught the volunteer bug again. She quickly discovered the volunteer opportunity at YBGR through Adult Resource Alliance Center of Yellowstone County. She said she is thankful for the experience because she enjoys being out and meeting new people at YBGR.

“Even though it might seem like a minor thing, it takes a load off of their jobs,” she said. “They’re always really grateful for everything”.

Dorothy enjoys visiting her granddaughter, who is also a nurse. She also appreciates cross stitching, reading, meeting with a weekly quilting group, and volunteering at Adult Resource Alliance.

 

Judy Watson-Goldsby has always helped children. She raised four daughters and took in three foster care children. Now, she’s impacting youth in another way… by volunteering at Yellowstone.

Judy Watson Goldsby
Judy Watson Goldsby

“I’ve been aware of the Ranch ever since I was in high school,” she said. “I had never really been on campus. Now that I’ve seen how big it is, it’s very impressive. I wasn’t aware of how far-reaching this is and what they do.”

Judy volunteers weekly at Yellowstone by filling in at the administration building reception desk and helping with paperwork. She started in this role in April.

“Somebody got my name and called me and said, ‘Hey, you like to volunteer.’”

Judy is on the Laurel City/County Planning Board, serves as the chairperson for the Laurel Urban Renewal Agency, works as secretary/treasurer of the Laurel Revitalization League, and delivers meals for the Laurel Meals on Wheels program. She said her most significant passion is conducting genealogy research at the Laurel Library. But volunteerism, in general, fuels her.

“It really gives me a reason to get up in the morning to know that I have something to do to keep me busy and make me feel good.”

Having previously worked in the insurance industry, Judy also owned an auto repair shop in Laurel. She retired in 2014.

Yellowstone Saved My Life

John’s* 11 months at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch were truly a life-changing experience.

“I am very grateful for Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t have been alive if it weren’t for it.”

The 17-year-old traveled to the 410-acre ranch in Montana from his home in Chicago.

“When I came here, I was a complete mess and had more things to work on than I like to admit,” he said. “I had really low self-esteem and a negative perception of who I was as a person.”

He and his family hoped staff at YBGR would help him with depression and bipolar disorder.

“One thing I had hidden from everybody for a while was that I also had a problem with drugs,” he said. “But that secret lasted only a few months.”

Once he opened up about his challenges, John said he began to focus on his treatment. This led to opportunities for him.

boy-outside-red-shirt-close-purchased“During the summer, the kids in my lodge and I dedicated our time to bucking and stacking hay,” he said. “From this, I learned how labor-intensive farm work is. At the end of the summer, we calculated that we stacked over two tons of hay!”

John’s adventures didn’t stop there. He participated in hiking, fishing, swimming, and billiards, as well.

“All of this sounds like just fun and games, but there is therapeutic value to everything we do here,” he said. “Once I started to become a more social person, I became more physically active, as well. I lost a much-needed 50 pounds from my daily activities, which helped me grow even more confident with myself.”

John said he began to imagine what life could be like after YBGR.

“The guidance counselor at YBGR has helped me tremendously with my future,” he said. “She helped me prepare for both my first and second ACT test, and also helped me decide which colleges to send my scores and apply to.”

Now, back at home in Chicago, John plays the trumpet in his school’s band and has joined the ceramics club. He graduates from high school in June and has aspirations to go to college. No matter where he goes next in life, John said he’ll keep YBGR with him.

“The real me took a lot of hard work and coaxing to come out of his shell, but my team and I accomplished it,” he said.

*Name changed to ensure client’s confidentiality

Yellowstone “Wouldn’t Give Up on Me”

Michael’s* start in life wasn’t ideal. His 16-year-old mother knew she couldn’t provide for him, so she gave him up for adoption. That’s when Michael’s new parents found him, trying desperately to make up for his rough beginning.

teen-boy“I was a spoiled little brat. I wanted everything and I got everything I wanted,” he said. “As I got older, money got tighter. Stuff I wanted couldn’t be bought. I guess that’s kind of why I started not listening.”

That’s when the problems arose.

“I was running away. I was doing any drug I could get my hands on,” he said. “(I was) constantly at my girlfriend’s house. I didn’t listen to anyone at all.”

Michael and his girlfriend used methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.

“(My parents tried to) stop me and save me, but I didn’t want to listen because I was so focused on my next fix.”

Drugs led Michael to dangerous situations.

“I was in a bad drug deal and I had a gun to my head,” he said. “(My parents) always say, ‘If we lose you, that would be the end of us.’ I always think, ‘What if they lost me right then and there?’”

Although Michael knew he was on the wrong path, he couldn’t stop his destructive decisions. One day, he was punching the wall, and his father tried to stop him. That’s when Michael kicked his father in the face.

“I was high on meth,” Michael said. “I felt so bad and I still feel bad about it. I was tearing the family apart.”

Then Michael ran away.

“I was scared of myself because I never thought I would ever hurt my father, ever.”

Soon after, he went to a treatment center. But he ran away from the facility with another resident.

“We ended up in the ghetto of LA,” he said.

They were doing drugs and stealing cars. He remembered hot wiring a black Mercedes-Benz.

“The dude had left his license in there and he looked like me, so I took his license, too,” Michael said. “I drove it for like five blocks and then I got out because it was a stick shift and I really couldn’t drive it.”

Days later, he returned to the treatment center, enraged.

“I started breaking stuff,” he said. “I kicked the door down. I punched a hole through the door and a couple holes through the wall. I hit and hurt so many people and myself. I think I gave myself a concussion (because) I hit my head on the wall so hard.”

Michael was then transferred to another treatment facility. He was becoming accustomed to being locked up.

“I had gotten used to it, almost too used to it. It was scary. It didn’t bother me at all.”

But then, he arrived on the campus of Yellowstone.

“Every time I got tired of a place, I would just try to do something so crazy, so stupid that they wouldn’t want me here,” he said. “But they made me stick it out and this place wouldn’t let me leave. They didn’t send me away. And that’s when I started shaping up, honestly, because I knew they wouldn’t give up on me.”

Michael also knew that after Yellowstone, his next stop would be jail. So he tried to make a home for himself in Fortin Lodge. But his first months at Yellowstone weren’t without struggles.

“I was always on consequence.”

He had chores, writing exercises, workout regimens, and limited privileges. But over time, he started developing relationships with staff and earning their trust. That’s when he began to work with animals, and he even formed a special connection with a horse named “Lina”.

“I honestly love this horse,” he said. “Whenever I got mad, I would talk to her like she was a regular human being. If I’m upset, she’ll lean her head in and give me a big fat hug. If I’m happy, she’ll lean in and give me a big fat hug.”

Soon, Michael was helping Yellowstone’s farm and ranch director, Gary Adams.

“He taught me how to brand and tag. I wanted to do it by myself right away, but he wanted it done right. It took a year before I could brand on my own.”

But his time with Gary wasn’t just about working with cattle.

“He’s also taught me some life lessons. He’s said a lot of wise things,” Michael said. “He pulls me aside after we’re done working and we talk for a little bit, whether it be about God or just how good we did.”

Michael started to become a leader on campus. He mentored younger residents and worked several jobs on campus. He participated in individual, group, and family therapy sessions. After a year and a half at Yellowstone, he feels ready to return home.

“I’m going to tackle my brother when I first see him and give my mom a big hug; my dad, too.”

As a graduate of Yellowstone Academy, Michael plans to move directly toward his career goals. He wants to earn a scholarship to go to a fire academy and then become a fire fighter. Although his goals are set, he said he knows temptations will follow him.

“I’m always going to have problems. The drugs are always going to be there. Old friends are always going to be there,” he said. “What I do and what choices I make are going to determine how I am and the person I’m going to be.”

But he said the lessons he has learned at the Ranch will guide him. And he won’t forget that Yellowstone saved him when he couldn’t save himself.

“It feels so good to know that I can go home and be a sane person and have a normal life.”

 

*Name changed to protect client’s confidentiality

Clubs Display Cars for Youth

The Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch will be a little brighter, a little louder, and a lot busier on April 10. The Muscle Car Club of Billings and Magic City Street Cars will be displaying about 20 cars and one tow truck for the youth who live on campus.

muscle-car-club-pic-web“We enjoy any opportunity to share our cars with young people,” said Rick Boyce, the vice president of the Muscle Car Club of Billings and president of Magic City Street Cars. “We have a great time visiting with them, too.”

The clubs aren’t only showing off their wheels. Some members feel a direct connection with YBGR’s kids due to their childhood experiences, and they’ll be offering their advice.

“This is an opportunity to help our youth grow and learn about possibilities,” said Gillette Vaira, the director of public relations at YBGR. “We’re thankful that these groups want to share their time and their beautiful cars.”

Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, a nonprofit organization, is trusted locally and nationally as a leader in the field of mental health care for children and their families. YBGR has impacted more than 10,000 youth and their families since 1957 through Residential Services in Billings, Community Based Services throughout Montana, and the Yellowstone Academy in Billings.